Recently, the Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain was sued by a woman in Virginia after she slipped in one of its facilities on mashed potatoes and suffered serious and permanent injuries.

According to details of the lawsuit filed in May of last year in the Loudoun County Circuit Court and transferred to federal court at the end of May of this year, the affected party demands compensation of $1.5 million dollars, accusing the chain of negligence in not having its premises with safe conditions for its customers.

For its part, the restaurant chain with headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and known for its Australian style, has denied the accusations, arguing that it was unaware of the “dangerous condition” in its facilities and objected to the severity of the plaintiff's injuries.

How did the incident occur?

According to the plaintiff, Tracy J. Renshaw, 56, the incident occurred on May 14, 2023 when she, along with her family, was dining at the Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Sterling, Virginia. The victim went to the bathroom and, without realizing it, stepped on a substance on the floor similar to mashed potatoes, which caused her to fall sharply face-first to the ground, causing injuries that have caused her to be unable to work and incur substantial medical expenses.

Renshaw points out that the chain has the responsibility, since the restaurant must have a safe environment for its customers, cleaning its facilities or placing a warning about the substance on the floor, and not allowing the food spill to remain for so long without being noticed by any of its employees.

For its part, Outback Steakhouse commented that Renshaw has not yet presented detailed medical reports on these injuries and that his lawyers have not commented on his state of health either.

Other demands to the restaurant

This is not the first time that Outback Steakhouse has received lawsuits related to negligence at one of its locations. In December of last year, a customer at his location in Ocala, Florida, filed a lawsuit after the toilet broke while he was using it, causing serious and permanent injuries.

While in South Carolina, a woman sued the restaurant after ingesting a metal bristle allegedly embedded in a chicken dish, requiring surgery, the award was $315,000.